Indoor Heated SCHOOL Swimming Pool

Today we got a notice from the school from a swimming school that are using the school's pool and charging us the parents if we want our kids to swim there. Well that was just the red flag to a bull for me today. I have had an awful day and this was just the cherry on top of Eskom increasing electricity costs by 31%, forgetting to give James lunch for school, my maid only arriving at 09h30 due to trains being late and a lot of work to do at the office.

Probably the worst possibly day I could have received this letter from the school, but why should we the parents pay for someone else's business?

Unfortunately I can't scan their document, but my email below will give you the jist of it.

EMAIL SENT

Hi Trevor

Sorry to dump this on you, but not quite sure how I should take this further.

I have a serious problem with the notice received from Splash swimming offering SVPS parents a 10% discount for our children to swim in the pool that we as parents raised funds for. In Splash's own words "you and your family will be able to attend . . . IN YOUR VERY OWN, VERY IMPRESSIVE INDOOR HEATED SCHOOL POOL."

Surely there is some kind of mistake? We as parents have raised the funds to enclose the pool and then we have to pay some strangers to swim in it? I know there are a couple of parents and teachers that have volunteered to coach the children for free during the winter months, why is there the need to pay someone now?

I am so incredibly insulted that the school can even think to ask us to pay for using a school facility that we paid for!

If I wanted my child to do professional/club swimming, I would pay for this, no problem, BUT NOT when the school has the facility. IF the intention was to bank roll someone else's business then it should have been made clear from the start. Alternatively, that money could have been put to better use for the benefit of the whole school e.g. build squash courts or a better computer lab or something like that.

Surely if Sweet Valley only offer swimming as a summer sport (free of charge at the moment???) then we should just have stuck to an outdoor pool and used the funds for other improvements to the school.

I really feel very strongly about this and have chatted to a few other parents who agree with me. There are a lot of children that would benefit from swimming in a 25m school pool, who are currently paying for private tuition, when their school should be offering it as an extra mural FOR FREE!

Please advise what possible explanation there could be for this arrangement?

Regards
Jeanette